A Mark, a Mission, a Brand, a Scar
by AgentRez
Summary: Lucas and Peyton got their happy ending, but painful memories threaten their happily ever after. My explanation for why Peyton and Lucas left Tree Hill. Set between seasons 6 and 7. Companion piece to Next Generation.


_This is sort of a companion piece to "One Tree Hill: The Next Generation", but it is not necessary to read one to understand the other. However, I recommend my other story for Leyton fans, because even though it's mostly about Jamie and his friends in high school there are a lot of good Leyton scenes. This is an expanded version of the explanation I gave in that story for why Peyton and Lucas left Tree Hill. This part is copied from the prequel to Next Generation but the rest will be new writing._

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><p><strong>4 MONTHS AFTER SEASON 6<strong>

_"You were supposed to be mine," Peyton hears a familiar voice saying, a voice she never wanted to hear again. She runs into Sawyer's room and is horrified to find Ian Banks/'Psycho Derek' holding her daughter. "We were supposed to have you together," he says tauntingly to the crying baby._

_"Stop it! Get away from her!" Peyton screams frantically. She runs over to take the baby back but Ian holds a knife a half-inch from her daughter's eye, warning her not to come any closer._

Peyton wakes up with a jolt and looks around at Lucas sleeping next to her, shaking with fear. She quickly gets up to go check on Sawyer. Lucas opens his eyes groggily.

"I didn't hear her crying...I'm sorry" he says groggily.

"She wasn't. I just need to go check on her," Peyton says frantically, running out of the room. She peeks in and is relieved to see that Sawyer is sleeping peacefully in her crib. A moment later, she feels Lucas come up behind her.

"Is everything okay?" he asks gently.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I just had a bad dream."

"You want to tell me about it?"

She shakes her head. "No, that's okay. I'm sorry for waking you," she says apologetically, knowing it's only been an hour since the last time he got up with the baby.

"It's okay...are you sure you're alright?" he asks skeptically.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go back to sleep while we still can," she suggests.

"Okay," he nods, still looking a little concerned as he wraps his arm around her and leads her back to their bedroom.

**ONE MONTH LATER (5 Months After Season 6)**

Peyton is at the supermarket, carrying Sawyer in a baby carrier attached to her stomach. She gets into the checkout line behind a middle-aged man with longish light blond hair.

Suddenly, her mind FLASHES BACK to prom night, when Psycho Derek greeted her at the door when she was expecting Lucas. Panicked, she abandons her shopping cart and runs out of the store, gripping Sawyer tightly.

"Get away from me!" she screams. A few people look up and stare.

She keeps running, not noticing she is running into the middle of the street with cars coming. Cars start honking frantically. A Lincoln Navigator swerves to the side of the road, coming within inches of hitting her in the stomach where she is holding Sawyer.

Suddenly, she comes to and realizes what she's done. She just stands there in a daze for a second, then rushes to the side of the road.

"Are you okay, Ma'am?" the driver of the Navigator asks. She just nods feebly, motioning for him to go on, still shook up.

**LATER THAT NIGHT**

Peyton nervously walks into their bedroom, where Lucas is plugging away on the computer.

"Hey," Lucas says, looking up with a smile, which quickly fades when he sees her expression.

"Luke, I need to tell you something," she says quietly.

"What's going on?" he asks nervously but reassuringly, motioning for her to sit down next to him.

She takes a deep breath. "Ever since Sawyer was born, I've been having nightmares," she begins.

"Yeah, I kind of suspected that. What kind of nightmares?" he asks.

"About getting attacked...about something happening to Sawyer. All of the trauma from what happened with Psycho Derek...I thought it was all gone, that I had dealt with it years ago...but since Sawyer was born I can't shake that feeling I had after the attack of being afraid. So I looked him up in the online prison system, wanting to reassure myself that he was still safely behind bars. But he wasn't...the system said he had been paroled. And since then the fear has gotten worse...it says he's been assigned to parole somewhere in Texas but I'm still scared. At first it was just nightmares, but then it got worse...I started having flashbacks. It's happened a couple times where I saw someone who somehow reminded me of him and I just froze for a few seconds."

"Peyton, why didn't you tell me?" Lucas asks, his tone not quite angry but a little on edge.

"Because I didn't want you to worry," she says meekly. "You spent months worrying while I was pregnant and I could tell how much it was eating you apart and I didn't want you to have to worry anymore. I didn't want you to think I was crazy...I just kept hoping it would go away, but it didn't. And then something really scary happened today and it made me realize I couldn't hide it anymore."

"What happened?" he asks, alarmed. She hesitates. "Peyton, what happened?" he demands more firmly.

"I was at the grocery store with Sawyer, and I saw a man who looked like him. Or maybe he didn't, but from the back of the head he did, and I panicked. I ran out of the store and I kept running until I realized I was standing in the middle of a crowded street with cars coming."

"Oh my g-d...did anybody get hurt?" Lucas asks frantically. She shakes her head.

"No...thank g-d the driver of the car closest to us reacted in time," she says quickly. Lucas just sits there for a minute, his heart beating fast, processing what she just said.

"I'm sorry, Luke," she says, tears streaming down her face. "I know I should have told you...but I never thought it would get this bad. I never thought it would make me put our daughter in danger," she sobs. "If the driver hadn't seen us..."

Lucas is still processing and dealing with a mix of fear, anger, confusion, and pain, but his protective instincts take over and he wraps his arms around her tightly.

"I'm so sorry..." she says again.

"Hey, it's okay," he says softly. His voice is shaky, reflecting his own fear. He takes another minute to compose himself, then wipes away her tears and cups her chin so she is looking at him. "I won't let anything happen to you or our daughter, ever. I promise," he says firmly. She nods feebly, desperate to believe him.

"We're going to get you some help, okay?" he says, trying to be reassuring even though he's obviously scared. "We'll get through this together, just like we've gotten through everything else."

"Okay," she whispers, leaning in and letting him soothe her.

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><p><em>Like it? Not so much? Either way, please let me know. I am a total feedback whore and really like to know what people think. Feel free to be honestmake suggestions. I will try to post more soon._


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